Routine isn’t the killer of creativity, but the dedication toward it. All the imagination in the world can’t provide benefits unless there is the discipline to turn dreams into reality.

~Ogma, God of Eloquence and Inspiration

Once they reached Sanctuary, Crow noticed something was different. He couldn’t quite say what he felt, but they gained something for completing fifty Shrines. He was sure of it.

“What is it?” Hooligan asked, seeing his ‘lost in thought’ look.

“Let’s go talk to Colossus. Something is different.”

They were talking to the sphere thing again a few minutes later.

“Seems that Spirit Shrine helped you,” the glowing ball said. “You are interesting, Crow. In all the time I’ve been here, I’ve never seen anyone who could sense Sanctuary’s changes. It hasn’t changed, but you’ve both opened another floor. You can access the training chambers, but do not mistake those for the gym. These are a series of chambers designed to help you cultivate, learn, and consolidate your strength.”

“Like what?” Hooligan asked.

“Gravity, Time, and Mana chambers. Gravity allows you to adjust gravity up to ten times normal. In the Time Chamber, you can slow down time to learn new things faster. At max, you can slow time up to ten times normal. So every ten hours in the chamber is one hour of this realm’s time, which is also slower than the origin time. Anyway, you can only cultivate your Mind there, and you won’t gain other benefits.”

“Mana chambers aren’t for cultivating either, are they?” Crow asked.

“Heh, no, but they are far more beneficial. It allows you to sense the Truths of whatever mana type you choose to observe.”

“So Spirit cultivation?” Crow asked, realizing that each of the three chambers focused on a part of the Soul.

“Hard to say. Truth enlightenment isn’t just about Spirit, but it helps. Also, there is another chamber if you want to cultivate normally. It has dense, pure mana that you can easily consume. However, you can only use it once a week. Mana has to come from somewhere, so it takes time to recharge, which means each guest is limited.”

“Let’s go!” Hooligan said and grabbed Crow. She dragged him to the gate, which allowed them to enter the various locations within Sanctuary. Seconds later, they stepped onto the new floor and found themselves in a circular room with a dozen doors. Three for each chamber type the sphere mentioned—thirteen doors, if they counted the archway they entered through. Other than a sign above the doors, they all looked the same outwardly.

Crow had to admit this was a good perk. Since they already knew where their next Shrine was located, they spent a week using the training resources. He mainly used the Time Chamber to evaluate his skills, old and new. It was his favorite chamber because he had a lot of things he wanted to learn. That included the book on portals he gained from the Clocktower, as well as the book on tailoring.

He used his Mind to peruse all the information he memorized but never really learned. While he did that, he summoned thin vines to use as thread and made his own clothes. At first, his attempts were crude, mainly because it wasn’t his primary focus. It was similar to Soul Carving in that he was infusing the threads with mana. When he completed a garment, the mana fused the threads, giving him a flexible, stretchy material. Crow felt it was very comfortable, even if it lacked the artistic details of a professional tailor.

He wasn’t sure if the fabric was because of his vines or not, which is something he’d have to test. The vines he summoned had similar flexibility, so he wondered what would happen if he used something more rigid like thin filaments of metal. The process of infusing was the same no matter what material he used, so he was curious about what else he could create with this fabric.

Hooligan even asked him to make her some underwear with a red face. The stretchy material, if made smaller than the actual body size, fits snugly. Crow found his new clothes extremely comfortable… even if they were crudely made. So Crow made her underwear and a type of undershirt that was tight around her upper chest. It wasn’t a bra, but the benefits were almost the same. She loved it because she could practice her martial abilities without her boobs getting in the way.

He got so good at creating her shirts that he tried adding more padding and support for her chest. It accentuated her breasts, much to Crow’s delight, but Hooligan didn’t seem to mind that. She tested the shirt by hopping up and down for about an hour. Crow thought she’d lost her mind, but she explained it was something women struggled with. The bigger the breasts, the worse it was, and jumping would make them hurt. However, even after an hour, she didn’t feel any pain at all.

“You aren’t allowed to sell these to other women,” Hooligan threatened, and Crow snorted in response.

“You obviously hadn’t paid attention when I told you about Nin and Mara. Those two will come up with a scheme to profit off those things. Especially Nin. That woman can smell gold from ten thousand kilometers away. Hell, she probably already senses I’m up to something.”

Hooligan snickered and couldn’t wait to meet this duo. Crow could see it in her eyes and suddenly felt like his harem was gaining a theme. He didn’t like it. Why am I drawn to thuggish women?

*Karma.* Lily piped in and couldn’t stop laughing.

*You need to stop learning from them.*

*Sisters learn from each other. That’s something you’ll never be able to stop. Didn’t you just learn that? Spiritual connection affects both parties.*

Fuck. That was the only thought Crow had, and it was so strong that Lily felt it. She didn’t say anything, but her laughter was more than enough.

Between his bouts in the Time Chamber, he practiced martial fighting with Hooligan in the Gravity Chamber. In between all that, he went to the Mana Chamber to study Fire and Wood Mana. He burned up all his time in the energy chamber the first day. He made Hooligan do the same to maximize their time using it.

Other than leaving for the cafeteria and nighttime activities, they spent most of their time on that floor. They had it to themselves, so it did not differ from resting in Crow’s room. She’d long stopped using her own room. No point.

They were washing up after a good night’s rest, intending on heading out to conquer Shrines, when an alarm blared throughout all of Sanctuary. Immediately after, the gate in his room with all the runes went dark. They could no longer leave and did not know what was happening. Even from the balcony, they couldn’t see anything happening except that Colossus was no longer standing at the front gates.